Homeowners are being forced to cut the sale price of their houses by record
amounts in order to attract buyers, new figures show.

Across the UK almost four out of ten sellers cut the asking price of their houses last month. The average price cut was £19,600, the highest drop on record, according to Zoopla.co.uk, the property search website.

This is equivalent to 7.5 per cent of the original average asking price of £261,067.

The reductions mean that a total of £2.5 billion has been knocked off asking prices in recent weeks as desperate sellers look to drum up interest.

Glasgow tops the list of places where prices have been reduced. Sellers in the city are cutting their prices by an average of 9 per cent. The smallest average cut came in Chelmsford, where sellers cut prices by six per cent.

According to Halifax, house prices fell by 0.9 per cent over the three months to January compared to the previous three months.

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Although there was a slight rise in prices over the month of Janaury, economists predict that the market will remain depressed. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, expects prices to fall by 5 per cent in 2012.

“We suspect that low wage growth, rising unemployment and persistent concerns over the economic situation and outlook will limit potential buyers and weigh down on house prices,” said Mr Archer.